Fuel costs prompt talk of AC Transit fare hike

OAKLAND

Rachel Gordon, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published
4:00 am PDT, Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Skyrocketing fuel costs in the last six months alone have added $5.85 million to AC Transit's annual operating costs, prompting agency administrators to seek a fare increase to help balance the budget.

The AC Transit governing board will hold a public hearing this afternoon on the proposal to increase fares, although no vote is expected.

Getting riders to dig deeper into their pockets could generate up to $9.2 million a year in additional revenue for the transit system, which has 227,000 boardings a day on its buses.

"If we don't raise fares, we'd have to reduce costs," said AC Transit spokesman Clarence Johnson. And that, he warned, could mean service cuts.

AC Transit's annual operating budget is $311 million this year and is anticipated to grow to $317 million in the new fiscal year that starts July 1.

The AC Transit staff has drawn up a variety of fare-increase scenarios, but the one recommended by General Manager Rick Fernandez and his executive team calls for boosting the adult cash fare for local service 25 cents, to $2. A bus ride on San Francisco's Municipal Railway, by comparison, is $1.50.

A trip across the Bay on AC Transit would cost $4, a 50-cent increase. The monthly pass, which is good for unlimited rides, would go up $10, to $80, for local service, and to $132.50 from the current $116, for crossbay runs.

Similarly, the cash fares for seniors, youth and the disabled would rise 15 cents, to $1. The cost of monthly youth passes would nearly double, from the $15 now to $28. Senior and disabled riders would pay $28 for a monthly pass, $8 more than the current rate.

The governing board could pick and choose among various fare-increase options. For instance, they could decide to raise the cash fare for adults but hold the cost steady for seniors - or reject the idea altogether.

The directors, who have balked at raising fares before, have yet to schedule a vote on the prospect. Fernandez has recommended increasing the fares starting Sept. 3.

The last time AC Transit raised fares was in 2005.

"Any fare increase is going to be really hard on AC Transit riders, many of them low-income and transit-dependent," said Lindsay Imai of Urban Habitat, a group organizing opposition to the proposed higher fares.

She said AC Transit should lobby to get a bigger share of available transportation funding from state and regional sources. By tapping passengers, she said, AC Transit risks a drop in ridership and may not reap the anticipated additional fare-box revenue.

Johnson said the agency doesn't relish the idea of raising fares, but given rising costs in medical benefits for employees and increasing fuel costs, the books are getting harder to balance.

Since November, for example, fuel costs have gone up 90 cents a gallon, or nearly 33 percent, to $3.68 a gallon. Each dime represents about $650,000 in added expense.

AC Transit hearing

AC Transit's board of directors will hold a public hearing on the proposal to raise fares.